What's New

 

I wander forth this chill December dawn:
John Frost and all his elves are out, I see,
As busy as the elfin world can be,
Clothing a world asleep with fleecy lawn.

Robert Buchanan
1841–1901
"Snow"

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PEARL HARBOR DAY, MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020

Each year on December 7th, Americans remember our military and civilian citizens who were killed in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor after the Japanese attacked in 1941. The loss of those 2, 403 lives led to President Franklin D. Roosevelt declaring war on Japan in the famous Infamy Speech the following day.

Pictured above is the USS Arizona at sea, then at time of the attack and the memorial above the sunken ship.

You may listen to the Infamy Speech HERE.

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In addition to helping save lives with your donation of blood, you will also receive free COVID19 Antibody testing. As part of the effort, plasma from whole blood donations that test positive for COVID19 antibodies may now help current coronavirus patients in need of convalescent plasma transfusions. There is an urgent need for ALL blood types.

You must make an appointment to donate due to COVID.

We have room for a total of 25 donors throughout the afternoon. You can make your appointment by accessing the Red Cross app on your phone or by accessing the following link:
https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=Elmwood%20Murdock%20HS

Each unit that is donated also helps earn a scholarship for the EM FCCLA to award to a graduating senior.

During this crazy year that 2020 has been please consider helping to save lives and help a student go on to continue their education by donating at the blood drive. Please note that the blood drive will be at the Murdock Fire Hall, NOT the school.

This was changed due to the current COVID. We are working to have the website and app reflect this change.

During this holiday season, help the EM FCCLA chapter, help others by generously taking the time out of your day to donate blood. Happy Holidays!!

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WERE YOU MISSING CEREAL FROM YOUR BREAKFAST BOWL THIS MORNING?

NO WORRIES.  SUGAR POP PUP FOUND THEM!

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ATTENTION, ALL STUDENTS AGE 13 AND UP:

The deadline for middle and high school students to enter the Nebraska Scholastic Writing Awards is December 15, 2020. Students age 13 and above residing in all 93 counties within the state of Nebraska are eligible.

Students are invited to submit original work in any of the Awards’ writing categories, including personal essay, journalism, flash fiction, and poetry. For details on the program and how to submit writing, go to hastings.edu/writingawards.

“We are excited to be sponsoring the Scholastic Writing Awards again this year, as it is a wonderful way to recognize and encourage creative student voices,” said Dr. Benjamin Waller, an associate professor in and chair of the Hastings College Department of Languages and Literatures. “Reading entries last year was such a joy, and we are looking forward to evaluating the works submitted from across the state this year, and announcing the award recipients.”

Hastings College and the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers encourage students to submit their work, and the two will provide support to educators, students, and parents during the submission process. Hastings College faculty and students will judge entries and notify top recipients in January 2021, and then organize a regional awards ceremony in the spring.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards program, established in 1923 by Maurice R. Robinson, the founder of Scholastic Inc., identifies teenagers with exceptional artistic literary talent and brings their remarkable work to a national audience.

All works are blindly adjudicated based on originality, technical skill, and the emergence of personal vision or voice, first on a regional level by more than 100 local affiliates of the Alliance, and then nationally by a panel of industry experts.

Students at the regional level will be awarded an Honorable Mention, Silver Key, or Gold Key distinction. Gold Key work will then advance to national adjudication to receive Gold Medals or Silver Medals. Top national award recipients may also receive scholarships, and educators of national award recipients may also receive cash awards.

Annually, the Alliance partners with individuals, foundations, and corporations to offer scholarship opportunities for students in certain categories or addressing particular themes. National Medalists’ works are then published in national publications and on the Alliance’s website, artandwriting.org. Select writing is published in The Best Teen Writing annual anthology.

The Alliance strives to teach young students to develop a strong creative capacity along with celebrating the role of art and literature in society.

Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement, Hastings’ student-centered initiatives include providing books, an iPad and a two-week study away experience at no additional cost. A block-style semester schedule allows professors and students to focus on fewer classes at a time and promotes hands-on experiences. Discover more at www.hastings.edu

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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! 

(by Pat Zeigler)

Have you ever donated something or done a good deed for someone other than yourself?  Are you're ready to step-up and volunteer?  Great!  Here's your checklist: 

1.  Unless going to work, for weekly grocery shopping or picking up medicine, I will stay home.  I'll have groceries and meds delivered to my home, if possible.

2.  Each time I have to go anywhere, I will wear a mask. 

3.  Because I love and care for them, I'll visit often with friends and family via phone, text or online, but not in person.

4.  I'll remind myself daily that my volunteering is only for a short time, just until the coronavirus is under control. 

By doing these simple things, I'll help lessen the burden on our healthcare workers.  It will also help to keep, not only myself, but everyone else safe from harm.  

That's it.  Sounds pretty easy, doesn't it?  It's totally painless, selfless, generous,  and it won't even cost you a single penny to help. 

Thanks for volunteering!

That's just what we Americans do!

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Upcoming Blood Drives:

 

12/7/2020: 1 p.m. - 7 p.m., Town Hall, 623 House St, Avoca, NE

12/8/2020: 1 p.m. - 6 p.m., Elmwood Murdock High School, 300 Wyoming, Murdock, NE

12/9/2020: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, 2128 Lincoln Ave, Plattsmouth, NE.

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Young Readers Invited to Write to Favorite Authors

Young readers in grades 4-12 are invited to write a personal letter to an author for the Nebraska Letters about Literature (LAL) contest, a state reading and writing promotion program. The letter can be to any author (living or dead) from any genre-fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic-explaining how that author’s work changed the student’s view of the world. Submissions must be completed online November 1- December 31, 2020. Nebraska Letters About Literature is coordinated and sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Library Commission, with support from Houchen Bindery, Ltd., Humanities Nebraska, and Chapters Bookstore in Seward.

The Nebraska Center for the Book’s panel of judges will select a winner and alternate per competition level (Level I for grades 4-6, Level II for grades 7-8, and Level III for grades 9-12) to be honored in a proclamation-signing ceremony at the state capitol during National Library Week in April 2021. Their winning letters will be placed in the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors at Bennett Martin Public Library in Lincoln. Nebraska winners and alternates will receive state prizes.

Teachers, librarians, and parents can download the contest guidelines, free teaching materials, information on the online entry system, and past winning letters on the Nebraska Center for the Book website. There will be an informational NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, November 4th at 10:00 am CT discussing this year’s contest. Get inspired by listening to past Nebraska winners, Ashley Xiques and Sydney Kohl, read and talk about their letters on NET Radio’s All About Books (netnebraska.org/basic-page/radio/all-about-books). For more information contact Nebraska Center for the Book.

The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars to build the community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. The Nebraska Center for the Book is supported by the Nebraska Library Commission.

As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, “bringing together people and information.”

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The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission Website, https://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases .

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MURRAY RESIDENTS

With winter upon us, please be sure to move your trash and recycle bins back by your house as soon as possible after the trucks have collected your refuse.  Do not leave them near the street.

This will help to ensure that the bins aren't damaged when snow and ice removal trucks have to be implemented. 

Thank you for your cooperation!

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To check for updates on covid-19 in Cass County, click the Sarpy/Cass Health Department's Dashboard HERE. You'll see an up-to-date overview and test results, active cases, cumulative cases, hospitals, deaths and maps.

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All children need a secure place to learn and grow. The ideal place should be in their own home, however many kids are not that fortunate.

In times of neglect or abuse, a child must sometimes be removed from their home at a moment's noticed and placed in a warm, safe place. Kids of all ages, from birth through high school, sometimes need the help of the Child Saving Institute.

CSI helps foster parents and biological families learn the skills they need for a safe, well-cared-for, and loving family life.During this unsettling time of covid-19, the Murray Christian Church is collecting essential cleaning items for the Child Saving Institute.

If you would like to donate, here are some things they could use:Pine Sol, Lysol Disinfectant Spray, sanitizing wipes, latex and powder-free disposable gloves, (L & XL), and hand sanitizer.

Please bring items to Murray Christian Church, 304 W Young St, Murray, NE on Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays, between the hours of 10 - 2:00. You may call the church ahead of time, 402-235-2527, to be sure someone will be there to assist you.

Thank you for helping to keep these children, (and the CSI staff), healthy and happy!.

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TEN YEARS AGO...

Nature's December Surprise, a Sweet Cranberry Recipe and Holiday Happenings.   

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Even during the summer and amid the Covid19 crisis, the Conestoga Backpack Program continues to furnish food to local families in need. The program serves the Murray, Nehawka, Union and Beaver Lake areas in southeast Nebraska, and will not turn anyone away.

Just by adding a few of the items listed below to your shopping list and picking them up, you'll be helping someone in a big way. Keep in mind that some of the children are very young and are possibly 'preparing' their own meals, so easy-to-open containers are a good option for little hands.

Also needed are hygienic supplies, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, cotton swabs, tissues and toilet paper.

To make a monetary donation instead, please a check made payable to CONESTOGA BACKPACK PROGRAM may be mailed or deposited at Cornerstone Bank, 102 W Main St, Murray, NE 68409. 100% of all monies collected is used for food and hygienic supplies for the families.

To have the items picked up, call Jill at 402-660-3543 to make arrangements. As another alternative, you may drop them off at Cornerstone Bank in Murray or at their Beaver Lake location.

Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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ATTENTION,  

CASS COUNTY NE RESIDENTS:

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See impound inventory here >>>

 

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ATTENTION MEMBERS and FRIENDS 

If you have a compromised immune system or do not feel safe going out to a public grocery store, we have 4 volunteers available to help. Please call the church office to request their services 402.235.2527.

Worship this week will be through Facebook Live.

Thank you,
Pastor Mike and the Murray Christian Church Board

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